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Well, as I expected...I didn’t have a great sleep last night. The news about our reservations being cancelled had me very worried.I was awake shortly after 3:30 and tossed and turned and was about to get up at 4:30 when I actually fell back to sleep.I got up just before 6am...a little more of a civilized time to get up!

I thought that the RCI offices opened at 7am but I was wrong...I had to wait until 8am...that last hour was torture.What are we going to do if our reservations are cancelled and we can’t get a room?That week is the American Thanksgiving holiday after all!I finally spoke to a rep shortly after 8am....to make a very long story short, there had been an issue with my credit card information and it had been rejected.Apparently RCI had tried to get in touch with us...hmmmm...why hadn’t they tried an email?They were certainly fast enough acknowledging and confirming our reservation by email when I made it.Yes, indeed, our reservation had been cancelled and now there was no inventory available at that resort for the dates we required. The primary reason we are going is to spend some time with Steve’s uncle and aunt and that is the resort they are going to be at.Well, move on...the rep cannot do anything about it...let’s see if there is another resort available for those dates.There ended up being one resort with the check-in/out dates we required, so I immediately confirmed.The one-bedroom unit that had been cancelled was now “on-hold” with someone else and the RCI rep suggested that we book something else rather than wait to see if the other unit is released.So, we confirmed at the other resort but I am going to keep checking the website to see if by chance the other resort becomes available.Should it become available, I have until tomorrow night at 8pm to cancel the new resort. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t bothered to check our account on their website?I thought it was a done-deal after all...I had printed off my confirmation and was good to go.

I had a work day today...I had promised Steve that I would make some lasagne and a couple of other meals and put them in the freezer for his hunting trip.So I spent the morning cooking...in between checking the RCI website. Steve kept busy cleaning the truck windows....talking to the neighbours and checking the RV batteries to see if they needed topping up.He also finished his "map project" and downloaded a google earth map of the area that he will be hunting...he is definitely getting into "hunting mode"!

After making lasagne, chilli and prawn linguine along with a bunch of hamburger patties...the freezer was stocked...and that was the morning shot.Now it was time for laundry.There are 2 washers/dryers available here in the RV Park.Unfortunately, someone else had beaten me to them so I was able to get started on the laundry until about 2pm.

Throughout the entire day, I checked the website very frequently on the chance that the one-bedroom unit would become available at the resort we were after....and nothing.Steve had just poured me a glass of wine shortly after 4pm when I thought I would check one last time...I wasn’t even going to bother...but I’m really glad I did because low and behold...there it was!I immediately put a "hold" on it and phoned RCI.

The day ended well...we’re right back to the original resort we had booked into in Cabo San Lucas...the other resort that we had booked was only about 3kms away but it would not have been the same without being in the same resort as the rest of the people we were going with.

With the laundry all done, I finally sat down outside with Steve to enjoy a cocktail.Ahhh....what a day!

Tomorrow we leave for Steve’s "hunting camp" near Castlegar.I am 99.9% sure we will not have any internet connection there so this will be my last entry on our travel blog until I return from Victoria.

Steve is very excited and looking forward to his time with Jim hunting elk for the first time under the direction of a former hunting guide, Don.I am really looking forward to my time on the Coast visiting with Rob and Angie and catching up with my former work buddies and friends...plus a side-trip over to Vancouver to spend some time with Chris as well as restoring my annual "girls get-away" with very special people.

The first thing on our agenda for today was grocery shopping, so after our usual leisurely start, we headed out to the Overwaitea just down the road.We stocked up the best we could for the two weeks I’m going to be away and Steve will be camped out in the bush with his hunting buddies.But he will still have to pick up a few “fresh” items on Sunday when he drives me to the airport in Castlegar.

When we got back home, I put the groceries away while Steve worked on his map of the area where he will be hunting.He had printed off detailed maps of the area from our Backroads Map program and was patiently cutting each out and placing them together...a big job that will continue after we finish with our afternoon plans.

We are going to the Creston Valley Wildlife Area & Interpretation Centre http://www.crestonwildlife.ca/habitat/description. The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area covers 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of provincial land, or an area that averages 20 km (12.4) miles long by 3.4 km (2.1 miles) wide. It consists of one lake (1,500 ha or 3,700 acres) and 17 marshes plus a major river and adjoining mountain slopes. The marshes form a valuable link in a chain of wetlands stretching from the Arctic Ocean to California. It is a short drive west on highway 3...about 11 kms...we arrived there just before 1:30. After going into the Interpretation Centre and talking with the attendant, we paid our $4 each to go on one of the many hiking trails.We chose the Marsh Trail. Here are pictures of our walk...

This is one of the lookouts they have for viewing...

Enough of that...let’s get on with the walk...

We were disappointed that the trail didn’t go a little closer to the actual water where the birds are so that we could have gotten better pictures...

This is the Interpretation Centre with the red roof...

What an interesting tree...

Although not on the Marsh Trail, we decided to go to this lookout...the trail took us under the highway (bridge)...

And this is the view from it...

There must be a forest fire burning somewhere south...perhaps in Idaho because it got very smoky towards the mountains...

We first spotted just the head of this fellow sticking out of the water but before we knew it, he had decided to climb out of the water onto this log...

A little further down the path and we came across these fellows sunning themselves...

Then we came across four otters playing in the water...here are pictures of three of them...don’t know where the fourth one went to...

We’re on the last leg of the trail back to the Centre now...

It was 3:30 by the time got back to the Interpretation Centre...a good 2 hour walk that was actually difficult to walk on due to the uneven grassy field that the trail was carved out of.Nonetheless, we had a good walk. We went inside the Centre and took a look around...

We were back home just before 4pm...time to set the chairs up in some sun...a bit of a challenge considering our side of the site is in shade, but we found a small area where the sun can sneak through.We sat outside for about an hour and then decided to head inside where Steve decided to continue working on his “map” project while I downloaded an update for our GPS and then posted a couple of more days on our travel blog...almost caught up!

After dinner, we had our usual evening.Just before bedtime I was cruising around the internet and thought I would go on the RCI website...that’s when I discovered that for some reason the reservations I had made at one of the resorts we plan on staying at in Cabo San Lucas had been cancelled...WHAT??!!I am hoping that there is just a mistake on the website...but it was too late to call them tonight.I’ll be on the phone first thing in the morning!

We had the first frost of the season last night...it was around freezing according to the outside thermometer this morning...brrrr.And when Steve went up on the trailer roof to sweep off the slider awnings, one had a small pool of water that had froze.I had a shower in our trailer and not wanting to have wet hair, I decided to take my hair dryer down to the washrooms where there was an electrical outlet...well, let me tell you, I certainly had a fast walk...it was freakin’ cold out there!!

We really didn’t have to hurry at all because we had a fairly short drive...and given that we also crossed the time zone into Pacific Time, we gained an hour.So we ended up arriving at Pair-a-Dice RV Park shortly before 10:00 a.m.We were surprised at how busy the small park was...but we managed to get site #22, which I think is the same site we had last month when we were here.It’s a nice quiet little RV park that is convenient to the grocery store, liquor store and has laundry.So we plan on spending the next few days getting all ready for Steve’s hunting trip...and my trip to Victoria.

We had a pretty low-key afternoon after getting all set up.Steve called Don, the fellow from Trail that is helping with the elk hunt.He ended up getting even more excited about the hunt when Don told him that he had scouted the area and has seen lots of elk.

We had delicious barbequed burgers for dinner and then settled down in front of the TV for the evening.There were some season premieres now that the fall season is upon us.I ended up having to get up off the couch and sit with the laptop at the table...while watching TV.Otherwise, I just fall asleep...I need more brain stimulation...obviously....

I hate that its dark when I get up now...oh well...summer is over.It was also a cloudy, dreary morning and quite chilly...the furnace ran quite a bit through the night.

It must have been close to 11:00 when we headed out for a walk.We did the Meadow Trail again.Steve had put the telescopic lens on his camera and has hoping to capture some good wildlife pictures.We had all but given up when we spotted a couple of white-tailed deer through the trees.They are so beautiful to watch as they run...they are very graceful, almost prancing as they run.

As we were heading back to our site, the rain started...not a downpour, but enough to get us a little wet. We were back at the trailer after a good 40 minute walk.Steve sat down at the table with a pen and paper and started his list of meals and groceries he would need for his hunting trip.We plan on stocking up for the two weeks I`m going to be away when we stay in Creston for a few nights before heading to Steve’s “hunting camp”.

The rain had stopped and there were actually a few breaks of blue sky showing when Steve decided he was going to take his fishing rod and try a little fishing off the breakwater by the boat launch.It wasn’t as windy as it had been the past few days and the wind was also going in the opposite direction as it had been...so he thought he would give it a try.

I walked with him down to the boat launch and out onto the breakwater and then took a few pictures as I wandered back and forth on the beach trying to get a signal on my cell.There he is out at the end of the breakwater (can you see him?)...

It was truly amazing how the clouds were clearing...it was turning into a beautiful afternoon.

After about 10 or 15 minutes of casting off the shore, he started walking back...hmmm...that was quick.But as I met him, he said he was going to launch the boat...do you want to go for a boat ride?At first I was surprised that he wanted to put the boat in the water...after all we are leaving tomorrow and it is going on to 1:00 by this time...but then sure why not...why let a beautiful afternoon go to waste?

We spent a beautiful afternoon out on the lake...and the first 20 minutes or so was awesome fishing.All together, I got 2 fish to the boat, lost one and had 2 hard strikes...Steve also caught 2 fish.All fish were pretty small except for one of Steve’s...it was a nice fish! Here are some fish pictures...

Here I am waiting for a fish to bite the yummy fly on my line...

And voila! Got one!...

The wind died right down...it was beautiful out on the lake...

After a couple of hours, we decided to reel our lines in and go for a boat ride down the lake before heading in.The boat motor didn’t seem to be running as it should and Steve wanted to give it a good run.It seemed to be surging a bit...hmmm...wonder what that is all about.Well, my main concern was that we would get down to the other end of the lake and it would just quit...kinda reminiscent of our boat ride on George Lake when we were in Florida last December and we ended up having to row.But nope, we made it back to the boat launch area just fine and dandy. Here we are just as we are about to go zooming down the lake...

By the time we got everything put away and the boat back onto the truck, it was after 5:00 by the time we got back to our campsite.We sat out in the late afternoon sun for a bit and then Steve decided to put a few things away...and basically putter around a bit.The park attendant came around and I paid for another night and then we decided to head inside.It was getting pretty chilly out...

It was cool and cloudy out today...very little sun made it through today.After a leisurely start with our coffee, we had breakfast, showered and headed out for a walk.We walked the Meadow Trail again, going in the opposite direction this time. We came across this deer munching away...he wasn’t too concerned about us...

We checked out the amphitheatre...

...and then took a trail that was to go by a pond...

...it turned out to be a slew covered in green...but it did have one lone duck on it...(it's a bit blurry...)

Walking through the campground, we came across another deer feasting on the vegetation...

We walked down to the beach area and boat launch...another very windy day again....

After close to an hour and a half, we were back at the trailer.We took our blue water containers down to the tap and filled up with water and then decided to get a campfire going.It was just before noon....the earliest we have had a fire going...not that we have had all that many campfires.But it was cool out...so we sat in front of the fire all afternoon reading.There were some very dark, threatening clouds and we really thought that we were going to get rain as we roasted hot dogs over the fire but luckily it didn’t.There was just a tiny bit of mist...but it didn’t amount to anything.

Shortly after 3:30 and with no firewood left, Steve went inside.I stayed outside for about another half hour until I had finished my book and then joined him inside.We had our usual evening.The forecast for tomorrow is cloudy with rain...but then sunshine on Tuesday.So it looks like we will have a nice travel day to Creston.

Banff

About Us

We married in 1982 and our sons, Rob and Chris were born in 1983 and 1985. In 1990 we built our dream home in North Saanich just north of Victoria BC on 1.21 acres. We both had long careers, Dianne in Human Resources and Steve as Branch Manager for a controls systems wholesaler.
Steve always felt that there were no guarantees in life as far as health and mortality went, so we planned to retire early and RV full-time.
In late 2009 we began the build process on our custom Toy Hauler truck, taking delivery in early 2010. We moved into our new Montana 5th wheel in Feb 2010, living in it for 4 months while still working. In May 2010 we purchased 2 Yamaha Grizzly 550 ATVs. We're ready!
Just shy of our 55th birthdays, on June 25, 2010 we retired and started our life as gypsies.
We prefer dry camping (boondocking), getting as far away from civilization as possible. However, our size limits us from getting into all of those remote areas. Good thing we have the ATVs to explore with.